I have a 11 month old chihuahua pup. I am having the worst time trying to train him how to use the bathroom outside. At first we used puppy pads, and he caught onto that for a while, but we just recently moved and he refuses to use the pads now. We have tried to take him out every hour, but he just goes when he pleases. He has never been in a crate. we’re not home during the day, and he has free roam over the house. Is there an alternative to crate training ?? I dont even have a crate for him. I need to know the most effective and best way to train him fast. No I will not hit my dog, so dont suggest it. My biggest concern is the time during the day when no one is at home to watch him or take him out to the bathroom. Ive never had to house break a dog before. Thanks for any help you’re able to give.

Your best bet is to crate him. They won’t urinate in their crate. He’s old enough to hold his bladder for 9 hours or so. If you don’t want to crate him, put newspapers down. When you get home, take him outside (try to take him to the same spot when you take him outside to urinate) and say the same thing every time – I said “let’s get busy” with my dog (from a dog behavior book which I don’t remember now). Take him outside every 3-4 hours. If you can, walk him every day for at least 20 minutes. But the potty training, it’s important to take him to the same spot every time and say the same words. Get a dog training book from your local pet store or online.

You have an outdoor bathroom? LOL, Just kidding. Take the dog outside at regular times every day. If he makes a mistake, don’t go nuts about it. Just point to it and tell him “outside!” It’s important that you set a schedule and stick to it. Eventually the dog will begin to hold it and wait for the right time. He doesn’t want to disappoint you either! If you miss a time, you will get a mess on the floor. Your fault, not the dogs. Gentle but firm training. Good luck!

Crate training and tethering. Tethering is basically keeping him on a leash with you when you are at home. That way, he is always in your site. If you do not know what your puppy is doing when he is at home — you cannot see the physical clues indicating he has to potty.

As for him not going when you take him out — he will eventually. You have to be consistent, and YES, you might have to stand out in the rain for 15 minutes. It takes perseverance and patience and loads of consistency.

I have a Rat Terrier. I was told small dogs are difficult to potty train. He was fully housetrained at 8.5 weeks of age. He is also crated during the day. He does not like it, only tolerates it. But, when I am not at home, he is safe and my house is too.

Most breeders will tell you to crate train your dog. In fact, most breeders crate train puppies once they begin to wean. Apparently the breeder from which you got your puppy did not do so.

I really suggest crate training your dog if you are not there to watch him. It’s the easiest and most consistant for the dog. If you don’t, he might get confused and it will take him a lot longer to understand. The longer you wait, the harder it is for him to understand where he needs to go.

If you are not willing to crate train, then another alternative is to lock him in a room that it would be ok if there was an accident. Or get an expen and put him there.

When you take hime out, make sure you have treats with you. Tell him a command sunch as “potty” or “outside” to indicate this is where he is to do his business. When he goes to the bathroom, reward him with a treat and tell him good potty. This will give him the idea that it is best to go outside.

When you are home with him and you noticed that he has had an accident, then go get him, show it to him and simply say “uh oh, that’s bad” and stick him outside or in a crate if you get one. This will sow that it is not appropriate to go potty inside.

So good luck and I really do suggest getting a crate. It’ll make things smoother and less confusing.

To encourage him to void outside, blot or pick up his piddle and poop from indoors, and place it in the spot you want him to use outdoors. It is difficult to train a dog when you’re away for so many hours, so crating or shutting him in the bathroom may be your only alternatives. I’d choose the largest, safest, most comfortable crate I could find. One with a plastic floor, for comfort, a couple of chew-toys, and a cushion for sleeping. Also add a puppy pad, just in case.

At first I thought crate training was horrible, but after I got my maltese I realized that not only did he like it since dogs are den animals, but he learned how to hold it while in the kennel and he potty trained ouside well. You take him outside to potty and if he doesnt then put him back into the kennel wait about 30 minutes to an hour then do it again have treats and if he does his job then give them to him with lots of praise and he can play. Keep that up and try not to let him have any accidents in the house. Try the crate it also keeps him safe from harm when Im away from home at work. Puppies can get into alot of trouble when your gone. Get a nice kennel, start on the small size till he gets it down then when he gets bigger and learns to mess outside then you can get a bigger one, you will find him sleeping in it even when your home. And if it really bothers you you can always use the crate to potty train then when he has it down get rid of it, but they do like it. Go online and look up how to crate train your puppy. Good Luck!!!

Crate training is what I would suggest. Since you are not home all day though it could be hard on his little bladder to hold it. If you can, close him in a small room ( like a laundry room or small kitchen of the bathroom) for the day while you are away, but train him with a crate when you are home. You should definitely have a crate. If there was a major disaster where you live, you may not be able to take him with you to a rescue shelter without a crate so even if you don’t crate train him – buy him a crate- they’re not that expensive for a chihuahua. Chihuahuas in general seem to have potty in the house issues at least all the ones I have known. good luck

If done properly, housebreaking your Dog does not have to be as much of a hassle as some owners make it to be. Your Dog is a creature of habit. If it is taught where you want it to eliminate, and you control its food and water intake to regulate when it will eliminate, you will have a happy relationship relatively free of accidents.
The biggest mistake made by Dog owners is inconsistency. It is important that you first choose the method of housebreaking appropriate for you and your pet and secondly stick with it. We know of many Dog owners who are impatient or inconsistent when housebreaking their pets. The end result is a pet that is never fully housebroken.
So, remember the three P’s – persistence, patience and praise, and you are guaranteed success.
Here are the 3 methods you can use to housetrain your Dog:

The Paper Method –
The paper method seems to work better with a puppy than with an adult Dog, although it can be used on both. To begin housetraining your pup with the paper method, first you must choose a location where your puppy will be staying until housetrained. Make sure the room is puppy proofed and that elimination on the floor in this area will not cause permanent damage to your home. A bathroom or small kitchen is usually a good place for this.
Once you have chosen an area, cover the entire floor with newspaper. If you have a young puppy, it will eliminate much more often than when it is older. So, just be prepared for many messes in the beginning. In the beginning, it is important to replace the paper as soon as possible after the elimination has occurred. This helps your puppy establish the area as its own, and it will help you get a better idea of where it favors doing its business.
As your puppy eliminates throughout the day, it may go in several different areas of the room. But, as it gets a little more used to its room, it will choose a certain area where it prefers to eliminate. When its preferred area for elimination is established, begin removing the paper from the rest of the room, only covering the area it uses. Make sure you leave its papered area large enough so that it does not miss the paper. If it misses the paper, the area is too small and you need to add more paper. When it uses its papered area, praise it. The more your puppy associates a reward with its choice of the paper instead of the linoleum, the quicker your puppy will be trained.
After it has established that it will use the papered area instead of the floor, begin moving the paper towards the area (presumably somewhere outside your house) where you want it to go when fully trained. The paper should only be moved a little at a time towards this location. If moving the paper confuses your puppy, you may only be able to move about one inch per day, until the paper reaches its final destination. Once your puppy understands that it is to eliminate only on the paper, and you have been able to move towards the area where it will eventually go outside, monitoring its habits will be much easier. Once the paper is completely removed, it will go to that area automatically and sniff or turn circles, letting you know it has to go out.

Crate Training –
Crate training can be used on both a puppy and an adult Dog and is probably the most effective and efficient way to housetrain your pet. No Dog will want to eliminate in a place it considers to be its own and therefore, unless left in its crate for too long, it will not eliminate in its crate.
Once every hour, place your Dog on a leash and walk it in the area where you want it to go potty. If it has not gone in five minutes, return it to its crate for another hour. After another hour goes by, the dog that did not go last time will most likely go this time. When it does go, be sure and praise it profusely and return it to its crate. The excitement in your voice when you are praising it will help it better understand that THIS is the place you want it to go.
Once that is established, it will do its best to make you happy by eliminating in its designated area. Once you feel it understands where it is to go to potty, you may lessen its crate time, and begin opening up its area to more than just its crate. Be sure and open up its area a little at a time so it clearly establishes the larger area as “its area”, increasing the desire to keep its area clean. Eventually, you will be able to open up your entire home, but this is only after a lot of time has been spent training and proof that it understands.

Litter Pan Method –
This method will have the best chance of success with an young puppy but an older Dog may be able to litter train with success as well. Similar to paper training, litter box training begins in a confined area such as a bathroom or kitchen. Although you may be able to use a traditional cat litter box for this purpose, pet supply stores do sell doggy litter boxes. They are shaped a little different and are a bit larger than the traditional kitty box. Also available are special litters and papers that should eventually be used in the box.
Like paper training, the beginning stages have paper lining the entire floor of the room. You continually change any soiled paper until the puppy chooses a place on the floor it likes to eliminate. Once the puppy has eliminated in an area about the size of a litter pan for approximately two weeks, place a litter pan on the floor and paper inside the litter pan. When it goes and does its business inside the litter box, make sure to praise it profusely. It has got to establish this is the correct behavior before it will be comfortable with it.
Once it is used to the litter box with the paper, you may begin the change to doggy litter if desired. As time goes on, you may add additional litter until eventually the paper is gone and only litter remains. If you choose this method, you must clean the litter box every time your Dog eliminates. It will not go in a dirty box. Failure to consistently clean the litter box will result in your puppy reverting back to the floor.

Follow any of the above 3 methods consistently, and you should soon have a fully house-trained Dog!

im a bit behind times with these pads the only thing we used in my time was newspaper moving to bit at a time until it was outside the door,i can understand your distress being out during the day,it didnt take long to train my dog with moving the newspaper he didnt have the run of the house until he was trained just the kitchen when i was out never a crate some beleive in them i dont but like i say im behind times i dont beleive in hitting any animal i have trained all my dogs like this,you say he got used to it before you moved,he might have gone back a bit with being a strange houseand you will have to start again,11 months is a bit of long time not to be trained,if you dot have any luck type in google you get loads of info from vets
hope you get there soon

I have a chihuahua and they are very sensitive to moves and pretty much anything. With mine I have noticed that not long after feeding time they will eliminte. This I have found is the best time to take them outside, and give them some time because they are picky and sometimes don’t even want to be seen. As for during the day when you are not home possibly confine them to the restroom…with a bed and a poddy pad to use and of course food and water . The restroom will serve as a crate temporarily, until your puppy adjusts to the new home. Good Luck with your new pup. Chihuahuas are the best, and forbid anyone would ever hit their dog!

Okay first of all you need to get a crate..if you crate train him/her you wont have to worry about it roaming the house while your away..and they NEVER go to the bathroom in their crate, they dont want to sleep in their own waste. So get a crate and put a blannket inside..when it takes a nap or gets sleepy put your pup in there and give it a treat saying “good crate”. They will be wanting to go in thier crate if you repeat that every time. And keep your eye on your pup..there are obvious signs of when its 3 seconds away from peeing in your house. they will go in circles or sniff the floor and squat. when you see this rush them into the backyard and when they finish using the bathroom have a treat handy and say “good potty” EVERY TIME they pee outside you MUST say good potty. Because with my puppy we bring her outside and i say “go potty” and it understands me and goes potty outside right after i tell her to. Your pup will soon get the meaning of that and will go after you demand it. that is only if it has to go. and if ti goes in the house make sure you say NO very loud so it startles the pup so it knows that they shouldnt pee in your house and hold its head close to the urine and say no very stirnly.